#Florida gay rights activist found dead in a landfill

A Florida gay rights activist was found dead in a landfill and the case is currently being investigated as a homicide, authorities said.

Jorge Diaz-Johnston, 54, was discovered in a trash heap the morning of Jan. 8 in Baker, Florida, about 60 miles from the Alabama border, Tallahassee police said.

“At this time the Tallahassee Police Department is investigating Diaz-Johnston’s death as a homicide,” police said Wednesday.

Diaz-Johnston was last seen alive on Jan. 3. in Tallahassee, police said. No further details were provided by authorities about the circumstances of his disappearance.

The activist and his husband Don had been one of the original couples to file suit against the Miami-Dade County clerk’s office after they were denied a marriage license. They ultimately won the right to marry in 2014 — more than a year before a Supreme Court ruling made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, NBC News reported.

“There are just no words for the loss of my beloved husband Jorge Isaias Diaz-Johnston. I can’t stop crying as I try and write this. But he meant so much to all of you as he did to me. So I am fighting through the tears to share with you our loss of him,” Don Diaz Johnston said in a Facebook post.

Diaz-Johnston is also survived by his brother, the former Miami mayor Manny Diaz.

“I am profoundly appreciative of the outpouring of support shown to me, my brother-in-law Don, and my family after the loss of my brother, Jorge Diaz-Johnston. My brother was such a special gift to this world whose heart and legacy will continue to live on for generations to come,” Diaz said in a statement.